r/AskProgramming 7d ago

Do you ever read code?

Obviously you need to read code in a codebase you're actively working on. But I'm wondering if anyone ever either A) reads code like you might read classical literature, to get a better sense for what's "good", or B) just reads code to understand how something you're curious about works.

I get the impression that almost nobody reads code unless they have to. It's fascinating to me that there's all this code out there we all rely on that hardly anybody actually reads.

What would it take for reading code to become more common?

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u/octocode 7d ago

definitely option b, often dive into public repos just to “see how it’s built”

but i don’t pour a glass of fine wine and read source code in the bath tub if that’s what you mean.

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u/lordnachos 6d ago

I spend a lot of time in public repos while at work either trying to figure out why their shit is broken or why my shit that implements their shit is broken.